Man Utd plan BBQ for Europa League win but limit player tickets to final

Manchester United will hold a barbeque at the club’s Carrington training ground to celebrate if they beat Tottenham Hotspur in next week’s Europa League final.

And no parade is planned should they win the tournament.

Players are also being restricted to two free tickets each for the match, with on-the-day travel to the final in Bilbao on Wednesday, 21 May.

The decisions come after a series of cost-cutting measures at the club which have included redundancies and the removal of free lunches for staff.

While United’s squad have been told they can purchase up to 10 more tickets for the game against Spurs at San Mames Stadium, they will also be responsible for organising how friends and relatives get in and out of the northern Spanish city.

United say they are committed to ensuring as many tickets as possible from the club’s official 15,000 allocation go to supporters.

Tottenham are yet to announce their plans in the event of victory but it is expected they will have a parade to show off the trophy.

Newcastle held a parade in the city in March to mark their Carabao Cup triumph, while Liverpool are due to host one on 26 May following their Premier League title success.

United have not held a trophy parade since 2013, which coincided with Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement. Players were famously irritated in 2008 to discover there was no such celebration to mark their Champions League triumph over Chelsea.

Hosting one this season would be logistically tricky.

Unlike their last Europa League success, against Ajax in Stockholm in 2017 during Jose Mourinho’s time in charge, United still have a Premier League game to play after the match in Bilbao – when Aston Villa visit Old Trafford on 25 May.

Immediately after that game, United fly to Asia for two post-season matches against local opposition in Malaysia and Hong Kong.

They return to Manchester on 31 May, after which players have to immediately report for international duty.

Portugal have a Nations League semi-final with Germany on 4 June, which would involve Bruno Fernandes and, if fit, Diogo Dalot.